Erasure: Always

As the first single from the Band's 'I Say I Say I Say' album, the pop duo Erasure released 'Always' in 1994. Unsurprisingly, the song quickly added to the act's other top-10 achievements written in their distinctive synthpop style which since their 1985 debut has seen notable aesthetic refinements.

Erasure: Always

The song begins with a melancholy combination of background vocals, guitar an various synthetic elements, shortly giving way to a more positive feel as the instrumentation develops to synthetic chords, sequenced bassline, vocals and percussive elements. This limited set of instrumentation later expands in the second verse in order to create a varied arrangement to the piece. While on the topic of musical structure, the duo's use of a short section preceding the chorus further adds to an interesting form, this itself being a device common to the synthpop aesthetic which informs the duo's creative practice.

The song is largely concerned with notions of love and harmony:

Always 

I wanna be with you  

And make believe with you 

And live in Harmony ...

This however is possibly considered to be an antiquated concept given the musical writing which subverts any optimism seen in the lyrical content.

The song comes at a prolific point in the artists' careers built on earlier successes. This previous experience is clearly shown in the song, exhibited by clever harmonic writing and commendable attention to instrumentation. One of the song's successes lies within the clever use of layers and variety therein. The music also benefits from strong production, the clarity of mix contributing to the song's overall charm. Certainly a strong release for the duo.

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